Students, teachers offer solutions to test stress

Although taking tests in school can be stressful for most students, a number of strategies exist to help students reduce the amount of stress that they endure during the test-taking process.

As with many students, Christian Learning Center student Krysta Young said that she does not enjoy taking tests because having to take tests causes her to experience feelings of anxiety. However, Young has created her own strategy for relieving some of the stress, which comes with the tests she must endure.

"I study a lot before the test and that really helps because I know the answers," she said. "As long as they (teachers) make sure I know what is on the test, I don't know what else they can do. The rest is up to me," she added.

If all students would share Young's proactive approach to test-taking, those students would find school examinations a little easier, according to Fort Scott Christian Heights teacher Karen Schellack.

Schellack said that students who cram for exams at the last minute create even more stress for themselves. It is important for students to study in advance of the test and be ready when test day arrives. Not only do Schellack and Young both agree that the students play a big role in decreasing the stress that comes with school exams, but they both agree that teachers also have a big role to play in this as well.

Schellack said that it is the teacher's job not only to teach the test material to the students, but also to review the information with them before test day plenty of rest the night before the exam. It is equally important for each student to eat a healthy breakfast the morning of the test and to drink plenty of water the day that the examination is to take place arrives.

According to the NutriScience Web site, www.nutrisciencecorp.com, drinking water and staying hydrated is important in order to keep the brain working properly.

"Staying hydrated is absolutely crucial for optimum brain function and optimum health... Your brain -- the highest maintenance organ in your body and the one which controls all of your physiological functions -- is the most devastated by dehydration. In fact, the number one cause of memory loss, at any age, is dehydration," the NutriScience Web site said.

"We study, play review games and have fun while learning the information," Schellack said.

According to Young, teachers who take several days to grade the students' test papers cause undue stress for some students.

"My stress does not stop until the grade comes back," Young said.

Students, who become anxious when they take regular classroom tests sometimes become even more nervous when they are required to endure state standardized exams. Standardized tests are a lot different for teachers to administer and for students to take, according to "Take out your No. 2 pencils: Taking the stress out of standardized tests," http://teacher.scholastic.com.

"What makes standardized tests stressful? A major factor is the actual method by which they are administered. They are rigidly timed, the instructions are complicated, and the rules are inflexible. For most students and teachers, this differs greatly from day-to-day classroom life. Often the room needs to be rearranged. Students who've been sitting in circles and groups all year may suddenly find their desks lined up in straight rows. And their teacher will be acting differently, too," the Scholastic article said.

Whether teachers are administering standardized tests or classroom exams, Schellack said it is important for students to get